Wed-AM: 24 miles (3:03) Mt Buckhorn+2 miles barefootAbsolutely gorgeous day. Had a photo shoot on the top of Buckhorn for Westword News.PM: 4 miles (:33) North LoopCRC run w/ Julian in the FFs.

Thu-AM: 28 miles (3:27) Mt. Buckhorn-El Diablo Loop+barefoot stuffHigh Drive to Buckhorn hillclimb tempo in 28:54 (PR), then, through Bear Creek and finishing on the track: 3x1mile in 5:21, 5:35, 5:07 (79, 78, 77, 73) w/ 1 mile in 6:45 recovery jogs (5 miles continuous in 29:33).Great great run. The tempo up Buckhorn was very solid and then I felt very good on the miles, too. The last one was barefoot on the track.PM: 5 miles (:41) North MonumentEasy in the FFs. Felt decent, actually.

Fri-AM: 11 miles (1:31) Monument-Mesas-RR TracksFreezing drizzle this morning--27 degrees. Still, I had a great little jog in the FFs and my NB Storm Striker jacket. Legs actually felt really good. Feeling good on Fridays is a great indicator that I'm on top of my training.

Sat-AM: 32 miles (4:06) Buckhorn-Jones Park-7 Bridges-Buckhorn+barefoot and extra in MonumentFeeling very solid. I had to really hold back in order to not really crank all morning.

Again, feeling very good. No gels, no water, and still able to feel totally on top of it the whole run. The 7 Bridges climb was great and almost fully melted out. I'm going to go up that hill more often because it's REALLY steep in some spots.

Total: 184 miles (23:45)

An excellent week in terms of both quantity and quality. The Tuesday workout was a bit of a grunt, but the rest of the week I felt so good (especially Thursday's workout) that now I'm feeling like that I'm just a couple of 12-14hr weekends away from being in killer 100 mile shape. So, of course, I'll do my best to stay away from those for the next month and a half at least. The last two weeks my fitness has improved so much; I'm definitely in way WAY better shape than at Moab--not even comparable, really. Time to taper and have some fun at AR next weekend.

13 comments:

Tony,How great that your shins are pain-free! Could you share more about how you dealt with your shin issues? How many cold laser treatments did you get, and how often? You think that helped a lot? I've been having shin problems for months now and I'm not sure what to do about it. Thanks!AR

A.R., I know you didn't ask my advice, but I still think you just have to keep running through it. Maybe less mileage, focus on form, SLOW DOWN, etc. But you MUST keep running or it will just come back again.

a.r.-basically, i iced like a fiend, got A.R.T, and used the cold laser daily whenever it flared up. all in all, i think i used the cold laser something like 18 times---once 8 times in a row and the next flare up i used it 10 days in a row. i can't categorically say whether or not you should try to run through an injury. i've had posterior tibialis tendonitis (inside of the shin) pain that has lingered for weeks but was completely possible to run through. the most recent shin pain that i've dealt with (the anterior tibialis) was something i absolutely could not run through---i HAD to take days completely off otherwise it became incredibly inflamed.

Of course I am not in the same league as Anton. I generally only run about 4 days per week and always 9 minute miles or slower(save the occasional 6-7 min/mi. speed sessions which I hate). So I guess I have never had a SERIOUS injury that could not be ran through without a couple days rest, etc. To me running through an injury just means nothing more than a week off and you keep training for whatever it is you are training for. What do I know? I'm just a middle-of-the-pack, crazy guy who enjoys a good runner's "high"--never done drugs, but It can't be this good!

I sincerely appreciate both of you for your advice - I'm not fast or an ultrarunner so it's nice to get advice from two different minds/bodies. And I'm tired of doctors who just tell you to not run for 8 weeks for just some shin pain! That's BS, as you and many others have confirmed. There are other options, as you both indicate, and I'll give them a try. Thanks again!--AR

Wow, Anton, looking forward to see you at the start, Saturday morning. Reading you crazy training logs made me work harder this week. No water, no gel for 32 fast miles? Does that really train the body to be more efficient?? Needed 3 gels for my 29-mile/4-hr long run yesterday...

tyler-i have a ~3min series of crunches, push-ups, and pull-ups that i perform (very) sporadically after some runs depending on energy, motivation, and time spent lolling about in the grass and sun instead of exerting more post-run effort.

troy-my stretching is generally even way way more inconsistent and way way less diligent than my core "training". which has most likely led to some chronic hamstring tightness...

katrina--just know: i appreciate the irony of you posting here. thanks a lot for the luck.

Your Thursday workout combined intervals and a tempo run within the same run. Do you attempt this often? Was the tempo run planned Thursday, or was this supplemented to your workout due to not feeling energetic on Tuesday? Either way, excellent workout ending with a lightning fast last mile repeat. This should give you great confidence heading into this weekend. Good luck!

The ideal in the Lieh-Tzu is a state, not of withdrawal, but of heightened perceptiveness and responsiveness in an undifferentiated world. My mind concentrated and my body relaxed, bones and flesh fused completely, I drifted with the wind East or West, like a leaf from a tree or a dry husk, and never knew whether it was the wind that rode me or I that rode the wind. -The Book of Lieh-Tzu